The Politics of Consolation

Memory and the Meaning of September 11

Christina Simko

Offers rich and innovative theoretical contributions to the issues of cultural trauma and collective memory.

Argues that a key function of American political leaders is to provide consolation in the aftermath of calamitous, unexplainable tragedies.

Simko reveals the evolving narrative of national pride invoked after national tragedies by tracing the tropes employed by American political leaders throughout history.

The Politics of Consolation

Memory and the Meaning of September 11

Christina Simko

Description

What meaning can be found in calamity and suffering? This question is in some sense perennial, reverberating through the canons of theology, philosophy, and literature. Today, The Politics of Consolation reveals, it is also a significant part of American political leadership. Faced with uncertainty, shock, or despair, Americans frequently look to political leaders for symbolic and existential guidance, for narratives that bring meaning to the confrontation with suffering, loss, and finitude. Politicians, in turn, increasingly recognize consolation as a cultural expectation, and they often work hard to fulfill it.

The events of September 11, 2001 raised these questions of meaning powerfully. How were Americans to make sense of the violence that unfolded on that sunny Tuesday morning? This book examines how political leaders drew upon a long tradition of consolation discourse in their effort to interpret September 11, arguing that the day's events were mediated through memories of past suffering in decisive ways. It then traces how the struggle to define the meaning of September 11 has continued in foreign policy discourse, commemorative ceremonies, and the contentious redevelopment of the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.

The Politics of Consolation

Memory and the Meaning of September 11

Christina Simko

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroductionPart I: Political Consolation in American HistoryChapter 1: Revisiting the Civil Scriptures Chapter 2: The War of Good and EvilChapter 3: American TragediesPart II: Politics and Consolation after September 11Chapter 4: September MourningChapter 5: From Consolation to LegitimationChapter 6: Consolation and CommemorationChapter 7: Symbolic Politics on Sacred GroundConclusion: Crisis Moments and Political MeaningsNotesBibliographyIndex

The Politics of Consolation

Memory and the Meaning of September 11

Christina Simko

Author Information

Christina Simko is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Williams College.

The Politics of Consolation

Memory and the Meaning of September 11

Christina Simko

Reviews and Awards

Honorable Mention, Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book in the Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association

"With analytical rigor and theoretical boldness, The Politics of Consolation hovers closely over the rhetorical landscapes of political disasters in America. Christina Simko hears the alternating themes of official consolation speeches as they variously grapple with, and make sense of, suffering and loss. This is a beautifully written historical analysis of political meaning-making at its most intense and consequential." -Robin Wagner-Pacifici, The New School

"The Politics of Consolation is an extraordinary work of cultural and historical sociology, proving once again the value of close reading and insightful interpretation in the social sciences. Simko's demonstration of the multidirectional interplay between past, present, and future, in political rhetoric about the national catastrophe of 9/11, is highly illuminating, morally profound, and politically consequential. It is a must read for both scholars and the concerned public." -Jeffrey Olick, University of Virginia

"In modern American history, politicians have frequently stepped into the public eye to 'console the nation' in the aftermath of violent events. In doing so, they seek to render evil comprehensible while also setting out a course of action that follows 'naturally' from the events they interpret. Christina Simko's study discovers the inner logic of this process, and thus articulates a new understanding of how public sense-making proceeds in a democracy driven by both myth and power. This book is a wonderful debut from a powerful new voice in interpretive sociology." -Isaac Ariail Reed, author of Interpretation and Social Knowledge

"With calmness and ferocious scholarly insight, Simko's book leaves you feeling very uncomfortable with how the politics of consolation has come to define the twenty-first century, an era that is synonymous with terror, disaster, crisis, and widespread fear and anxiety...This is an excellent book: uncomfortable, unsettling and, in many ways, scathing." --Social Forces

"...this is a scholarly and impressive book....It is well researched and marries theory with empirics through lucid prose. Most important, it presents an important analysis and argument, which contributes to a body of work trying to redress the worst excesses of post-9/11 politics and foreign policy." --American Journal of Sociology

"The Politics of Consolation offers fresh hope for a disciplinary endeavor described as 'centerless'...Hers is a shining example of what cultural sociology, collective memory, and historical sociology can and should do in conjunction with one another." --Teaching Sociology

"The structure and the theoretical approach used within the book are highly innovative... It is an assessment of the function and use of memory and commemoration within political discourse, and...it excels." -- European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology